


Rebel Prince

by floralmaiden



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, M/M, POV Neil Josten, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28274274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floralmaiden/pseuds/floralmaiden
Summary: In which Neil stumbles upon Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Rebel Prince’ and all the thinks about is Andrew.or: Neil calls Andrew “prince” and Andrew doesn’t hate it completely.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 6
Kudos: 119





	Rebel Prince

**Author's Note:**

> soft andriel is my weakness. 
> 
> hope you guys enjoy ❤️

One interesting thing about Neil is that he has always loved music. He didn’t have a favorite singer or even a favorite song growing up, but he would listen to whatever was playing on the radio without questioning it with a smile on his face. As a kid, he would imagine himself living the moments the artist was singing about. It was a way to shut the outside world and have a tiny bit of happiness while riding on backseats of stranger’s cars when he and his mom were running from Nathan.

Now, years older, not hiding nor running, Neil got used to have music blasting from his earphones all the time. Whether when he was on his way to classes or heading to the court, there was always something playing on the new phone he got after one too many pleads from his teammates.

He was sprawled on the couch with Andrew lying on top of him. It was sunny outside and, even though this would be the perfect weather to go for a run or maybe practice a little, Neil liked this better.

Andrew was reading a novel of some sort, humming from time to time in agreement to whatever was happening with the characters. Neil was watching him closely. He could spot a thin line forming on the blonde’s forehead and touched it softly in an attempt to make it disappear. There was music coming out of his earphones but nothing that could catch his attention the same way Andrew does.

They stayed like that for god knows how long until he noticed Andrew’s eyelids getting heavier and, soon enough, the boy fell asleep on his arms. Neil took the book out of his hands and placed carefully on the floor, trying his best not to wake the other. He spared a glance at the name of the song on the screen of his phone and decided to search for a new playlist to listen to. He found one that got his interest and put it on shuffle.

He was running his fingertips through Andrew’s hair when a low voice started to sing about a certain rebel master. Neil listened with his eyes closed as if to get more of that voice and put a face into that character being described.

_“Confounded anger burnin’ with love for me”_

All he could picture was a pair of golden eyes, blonde hair and soft skin. He smiled at this, opening his eyes to watch his own rebel prince take a deep breath in his sleep.

The song went on and by the time French lyrics were being sang, Neil was trying to piece together how could someone who had never met Andrew and didn’t know anything about the boy write something so perfectly fitting for him.

Maybe he was misunderstanding the meaning behind those words but in his mind, there was only a strong, confident, chaotic and loyal boy. He remembered all the times Andrew fought for his family and all the moments when all Neil had to do was rely on whatever Andrew promised him.

He realized suddenly that, lately, every song he listened to reminded him of Andrew somehow. Sometimes it was the heavy bass or the low timber on the singer’s voice. Sometimes it was the storyline. He had heard different takes on broken boys, bad boys, drunken boys, sober boys, soft boys, whatever you can imagine. He had heard about all of them and all would come down to the goalkeeper moving his shoulders up and down, in a peaceful nap.

Neil played the song again and, being more familiarized with the lyrics, he put his little-to-no knowledge about Disney princes to work, Neil tried to identify which one of them had a similar personality to Andrew’s and he realized that Andrew would actually be presented as a villain. A frown formed itself on Neil’s face. He didn’t like that people would misjudge Andrew most of the time and, even though Neil knew too well the reasons behind that, he also learned to dislike whoever gave Andrew a side look. Neil thought, softly, that Andrew was indeed a rebel prince. Getting to his target no matter how, staying true to his words even when others had forgotten about it. Fighting for the life he believes his family deserves. Keeping Neil save. Being Neil’s home.

He pressed the “repeat” button and decided that he has a favorite song.

After that, Neil would always refer to Andrew as “prince” in his thoughts. Every day spent with the blonde was turning Neil into a romantic mess. He wouldn’t dare to say that out loud but it was getting harder and harder to keep up with the warmth inside his heart. He cannot be blamed for thoughts and feelings one isn’t able to control.

_“Où est mon maître le prince rebelle?”_

***

Neil was on his way back to the dorms after a really long day of a really long week. It was midterms, so he had stayed up studying for his tests, went to practice in the morning, proceeded to his classes and said tests, went back to practice, dealt with his teammates and their emotions and now he just wanted to curl in bed and dream of his next weekend.

Maybe being way too tired was the reason why he was mumbling so much. He was on the passenger seat of Andrew’s car commenting about everything and anything. From the view to the weather, to the keychain Andrew bought, to literally everything he laid his eyes on.

Everyone stayed silent, enjoying the performance and finding fun in the way Neil was showing a different side of him. The radio was on but no one was paying much mind to it until Neil rested his head on the window and started to lazily sing along to what seemed to be an 80’s rock band.

Andrew remained quiet, stealing some glances here and there. Neil didn’t notice that, too aware of the weight of his own bones and trying hard to keep up with the words coming out from the speakers.

Gladly they got to the dorm before Neil wasn’t able to carry himself up the stairs. He followed Andrew into the building and almost let a happy cry fall out from his lips when he spotted their floor but, going against his hopes, Andrew kept walking, making his way to the rooftop.

Yes, Neil was tired. So fucking tired. But he wasn’t ready to be apart from Andrew. So he forced his foot into every step. If Andrew noticed how long the boy was taking to catch up with him he didn’t mention.

Now, Neil was an athlete. He could run for hours without losing his breath. But, for some unknown reason, this week had drained him. He didn’t want to admit that taking care of the other players and trying to be a good example for them was making him put his heart out into every practice.

By the time he got to the top, Andrew was already sitting on his usual spot, admiring the view. There was a cigarette already lit between his fingers and he offered Neil one as well. Neil, however, just threw his bag on the floor and lay there, facing the sky above his head.

Andrew said nothing to that but did move so he was closer to the other. Neil moved his eyes from the stars and looked at Andrew. He was thankful he did because the right amount of moonlight was painting Andrew’s face and Neil could swear he was dreaming.

He reached out an open hand in Andrew’s direction in a quiet ask for the boy to hold it. Instead, Andrew refrained to drawing patterns with his index finger into Neil’s palm. To say he was happy would be an understatement.

Neil sat up as carefully as he could, trying not to move his hand from Andrew’s touch. Andrew watched his every move and when they were finally face to face, Neil let out a tired breathy laugh.

“Go to sleep” Andrew said not really meaning that.

“Can’t sleep without you” Neil replied in a quiet voice.

“You used to flirt better than that”

“You liked it” the silence that followed let Neil know that he was right.

It became a habit. They would climb into their own beds and after a few minutes of rolling in the sheets, Neil would ask Andrew if he could sleep with him. Andrew never said no.

Neil raised a hand closer to Andrew’s face, giving him time and space to refuse the action, which he didn’t do. Neil then place it on Andrew’s soft cheeks, drawing circles with his thumb, mimicking whatever design his lover was creating on his hand.

“You’re beautiful”

“Shut up, Josten”

Neil laughed at that and “Rebel Prince” came to his mind, making him laugh even harder. He had to stop his motions in turn to cover his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Am I funny to you?” Andrew’s tone showed no emotion but his eyes were studying Neil’s face.

“Of course you are”

“What’s so funny about me?” Andrew retracted his hand, placing both of them on top of his own knees. Neil got a little sad at that. He wanted to sleep and he wanted Andrew to touch him. He voiced that out.

“I like it better when you’re touching me, prince”

Silence.

Neil was in an open area, but there seemed to not have enough air for him to breathe normally.

“You called me prince” Andrew was calm. Way too calm.

“I did not”

“I thought we were over the lying game”

Neil lowered his stare to his worn out jeans and asked with a low voice:

“Do you like it?” nothing.

Pure silence.

Neil raised his head and was met by a pair of clever eyes burning holes into his skull.

“Tell me, Andrew. Do you like it?” he wasn’t trying to force a reply out of Andrew. He was genuinely curious about whether Andrew was okay with being called something so... soft?

“Prince? Why?”

Neil gave him a small shrug and laid back down. He thought for a while before giving Andrew a response and, when he did, it sounded stupid even to himself.

“You’re just so brave and centered. Nothing gets through you and it makes me feel safe. I’ve been thinking about how much you give us and how little you expect in return. I could stare at you forever and I would never get tired of it. I also think you don’t know how fucking hot you are”

“I know” Neil gave Andrew’s leg a weak punch.

“I’m trying to be honest here and you’re just giving me shit for it. No “prince”, I get it” he wasn’t in the mood for a fight so, if Andrew couldn’t understand where he was coming from, he wouldn’t waste his energy explaining himself.

“I didn’t say I don’t like it. It’s just new to me” Andrew moved a hair out of Neil’s face and ran his finger through the bridge of the boy’s nose.

There was a lot going on inside Neil’s head and Andrew noticed how nervous he looked and, in an attempt to ease out the mood, he let out the most not-Andrew question possible.

“Does that make you Ariel?” to which Neil took a second to recover before laughing like a crazy maniac. Andrew didn’t move nor laughed along. He just waited until Neil was back to his normal self.

“Is that consent?”

“It’s not a “no”. Does it make sense to you?”

“Yeah, it does”

“If you use that against me or in front of anyone, I will rip your fucking tongue off. Am I clear?” that was said with a straight face.

“Shit, Andrew. That was hot”

Andrew rolled his eyes at him and helped Neil to his feet. He grabbed their things and guided Neil back to their room.

He supported most of Neil’s weight throughout the whole way back but made no remarks about it.

Once back inside the apartment, both boys hopped into the shower. Neil was too sleepy to move a cell so Andrew did all the work by himself.

He worked his fingers into Neil’s hair, applying enough pressure so it would feel like a scalp massage and Neil let a long sigh at that. After getting Neil nice and clean, Andrew helped the boy into comfortable clothes and closed the door to take a shower himself.

Neil found himself sitting on Andrew’s bed and thinking back at the view he had from the blonde moments ago. The clear light made him look even prettier than normal, if that was possible. He wanted to smell Andrew again, touch him again.

Without a second thought, he got under Andrew’s covers and waited for the twin to return.

He must have fell asleep while waiting because next thing he knew, there were strong arms holding him close and a steady heartbeat by his ears. He raised his eyes to the boy’s face and found a soft smile imprinted there. Neil ran a delicate finger on top of it, wishing he could capture this moment forever. He leveraged himself just enough so he was able to place a kiss at Andrew’s forehead.

“Goodnight, prince”

He went back to his position and was just about to go into a deep slumber when he got a reply.

“Goodnight, Ariel” at that, Neil laughed silently and tightened his finger around Andrew’s waist.

They both slept peacefully that night.


End file.
